What we saw at Folk Alliance, Volume I

Remember Folk Alliance International Conference, way back in February? We all heard a lot of good music there. This is Volume I of what was heard by Mark & Val. You’ll be treated to some of our old favorites and some new discoveries: Kelly Wertz, Carly Dow, Wallis Bird, Brebach, Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs, Martyn Joseph, Brona McVittie,  Folkiler Folk’s own Bob & Diana Suckiel (who will be preforming at the Robert Johnson Birthday Celebration 2-5 PM at BB’s Lawnside Barbecue presented by KKFI’s Boogie Bridge Sun 5/6), Old Hanna, Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage, Ye Vagabonds, Rura, Anais Mitchel and Anais Mitchel & Justin Vernon, Carrie Elkin Mick Flannery, Honey Dewdrops, Rebecca Loebe & Findlay Napier, and Yirrmal.

Kelly Wertz is a local finger-style guitar player who takes classic songs from early folk, country, and popular music and gives them new life. He’s performed with the Plaid Family, Polk Salad Orchestra, Tiny Flowers (his duo w/Connie Dover) and many others. We kick off the show with his solo album ‘Crawdad’.

Carly Dow hails from Manitoba, Canada and her wildcrafted soul-folk blends dark and poignant writing with an “incomparable voice that is raw, alluring and unique” (Vies Mag). Weaving image-rich lyrics with strong songwriting on clawhammer banjo or guitar, Dow creates music that is magnetic and multi-layered, evoking comparisons to the likes of Gillian Welch, Amelia Curran and Abigail Washburn.

Wallis Bird is an Irish musician residing in Berlin who’s released five studio albums. Born left-handed, she lost five fingers of her left hand in a lawnmower accident with four being able to be sewn back on again. She became used to playing a right-handed guitar upside-down, which contributes to her unconventional style of playing.

Five-piece Scottish folk band Brebach formed in 2005, and have received nominations for ‘Best Group’ at both the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and the Scots Trad Music Awards (Na Trads) in 2011. In 2012 they won Scottish Folk Band of the Year and Live Act of the Year in 2013.

Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs is a Quebecois trio deeply anchored in tradition and steeped in numerous crisscrossing influences Since its inception in 2009, Les Grands Hurleurs have earned a solid reputation, accumulating a lot of experience in countless Quebec venues, international stages and on major events including 2017 Canada Day in Victoria; 2017 Canada Summer Games Winnipeg.

A jaw-dropping guitar player who has developed a unique percussive style, teamed up with a powerful show-stopping voice, Martyn Joseph has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”. In addition to his five top 50 UK hits, the importance of his work has been recognized by programs such as BBC Radio 2’s primetime series on Singer/Songwriters. Concerned with making music that is relevant and vital to his audience, Joseph engages with challenging narratives tackling the complexity of the human condition, underpinned with a promise of hope.

Brona McVittie from Northern Ireland takes her inspiration from W.B. Yeats’s idea of a kind of Celtic phantasmagoria which can be felt but remains essentially ineffable, and has recorded a timeless mix of traditional and original material”

Bob & Diana Suckiel, co-hosts of Foolkiller Folk, are a performing duo, members of The Rose Tattoo, and recipients of the 2014 Heritage Series Musician Award, which recognizes outstanding area musicians or musical groups whose body of work represents a major contribution to Kansas City’s musical heritage. Their performances over the last four decades have focused on preserving the nation’s rich folk musical legacy, with a focus on railroad, labor songs, and early blues.

Old Hannah, a band from the west of Ireland, have taken a deep-rooted love of all things folk, country, and traditional, and spun those influences into a unique and sophisticated sound that’s both contemporary and timeless.  Adding drums, trumpets and outstanding four-part harmonies to a chorus of string instruments, these old friends can bring audiences to a standstill.

Huddled around a single microphone, singing intimate duets of American roots and English folk music with just mountain dulcimer, dobro, and guitar, folk duo Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage from Cambridge, England look and sound classically timeless, yet feel refreshingly unique. Their warm distilling of influences from both sides of the Atlantic produces a refined sound that is decidedly their own.

Dublin Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn who form the duo Ye Vagabonds offer harmony-rich folk music, influenced by Irish traditional music, Appalachian singing, and the 1960’s folk revival.

Rura is a multi-award-winning act and one of Scotland’s most sought-after folk-based bands. With two heralded albums, a third due for release in June 2018, and extensive international touring, Rura affirm their position as one of Scotland’s leading groups. Their exquisitely rugged yet refined blend of fiddle, Highland pipes, flute, bodhran, and guitar has won a devoted following in many corners of the globe, among audiences and critics alike.

Anaïs Mitchell is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Mitchell has released six albums, including an album of her 2006 Folk Opera Hadestown, described as “the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in post-apocalyptic Depression-era America, which was released in spring 2010 to favorable reviews and from which we’ll be hearing.

Carrie Elkin is a folk/country singer and acoustic guitarist musician based out of Austin, Texas, She straddles the Americana, folk, and indie-rock worlds where meaningful songs meet the fierce-yet-fragile voices of powerful women. With six albums released and named one of Texas Music Magazine’s 2011 “Artists of the Year” in their Winter 2012 issue, Elkin has the gift of projecting very personal intimate moments into transcendent universal experiences that move us all.

Mick Flannery is widely regarded as one of the finest singer-songwriters to come out of Ireland in recent years. An award-winning double platinum selling artist, he has released five albums to date – including two number ones and received widespread airplay. He became the first Irish musician to ever win awards at the International Songwriting Competition in Nashville, aged 19.  His critically acclaimed live performances have seen him sell out shows in Ireland’s Olympia Theatre and Cork Opera House.

Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish are celebrating their 9th year of touring full time as The Honey Dewdrops, having played stages and festivals far and wide in North America and Europe. With tight harmonies and a musical ensemble that includes clawhammer banjo, mandolin, and guitars, the effect is to leave listeners with only what matters: the heart of the song and clarity over ornamentation.

Rebecca Loebe and Findlay Napier met on an EFDSS songwriting retreat in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. “Sometimes when you get thrown into a co-write sessions things just click.” Says Napier, “This was one of those times.” Over the last 18 months, they have written together down the line from Loebe’s base in Austin, Texas and in Findlay’s Glasgow flat when Rebecca was touring the UK. Loebe has honed her voice as one of the Americana music scene’s most exciting new songwriters and earned a place on Alternate Root Magazine’s annual listing of The Top 10 Female Singers in America.

An Australian from the Northern Territories, new generation artist Yirrmal Marika, from Yirrkala, has made a refreshing entrance into the music scene with extensive knowledge of traditional Yolngu “Manikay” songs, and he is also an excellent dancer and didgeridoo “yidaki” players. Inspired by his grandfather, Dr. Yunupingu, former lead singer of Yothu Yindi, he fuses traditional and contemporary arrangements with class and passion. Yirrmal is an inspiring songwriter and guitarist with a beautiful voice, singing songs about his homeland and culture with feeling and depth beyond his years.


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